Belial: Sexual Violence and Its Legal Remediation in the Deuteronomistic History

At first glance, the pericopes of Judges 19–20, 1 Samuel 2:12–36, and 1 Samuel 30 have little in common with one another. Yet, several peculiar threads are interwoven in each pericope that signal a common bond between these narratives. In each account, the characterization of the antagonists and their deeds are the same. In Judg 19–20, בני־בליעל, lit. “sons of belial,” are responsible for the rape of the Levite’s concubine. In 1 Sam 2:12–36, Eli’s sons are called בני־בליעל, lit. “sons of belial,” and accused of exploiting the so-called gathering women. In 1 Sam 30, a portion of David’s men who are called belial (בליעל) make a proposal that capitalizes on the sexual abuse of Israelite daughters in the wake of an Amalekite raid. In addition to the striking correlation of belial and sexual violence against women in each of these pericopes, there are several more peculiarities shared between them. First is the use of belial itself. The uncertain etymology and linguistic ambiguity of the term have famously puzzled interpreters. There is little consensus on its precise meaning, and the various interpretations of the term in later recensions of the biblical text obfuscate the shared usage of the term in these pericopes. Second, although these pericopes are replete with allusions to Pentateuchal legislation, interpreters have not considered a shared motivation underlying the incorporation of these allusions. Finally, although it is widely accepted that editorial activity has significantly shaped each pericope, there has not yet been an attempt to trace common scribal motivations behind their literary development. This study aims to resolve these collective difficulties by arguing that Judg 19–20, 1 Sam 2:12–36, and 1 Sam 30 engaged in shared legal reflection. I propose that the intricate legal themes, allusions to sexual violence, complex text-critical issues, and evocation of belial in Judg 19–20, 1 Sam 2:12–36, and 1 Sam 30 are the product of legal exegesis that sought to correlate belial with sexual violence against women.